Mayor says BEAT plans will make Kingston a 'model city'

KINGSTON — Mayor Shayne Gallo brought myriad projects already in the pipeline or about to begin under a new name Thursday and called it the Business, Education, Art and Technology initiative, or BEAT.

James Nani

KINGSTON — Mayor Shayne Gallo brought myriad projects already in the pipeline or about to begin under a new name Thursday and called it the Business, Education, Art and Technology initiative, or BEAT.

Speaking at City Hall, Gallo pointed to a number of projects that he said will improve Kingston. Most of them had been pitched before or are already in the works, but Gallo said as a whole they'll make Kingston a "model city."

"We have an opportunity to be as great as we were when we were the state's capital," said Gallo.

Key projects include bringing a medical college to the Kingston Hospital campus, bringing the Kingston police station to the Bank of America building on Broadway and partnering with SUNY Ulster and Bard College.

As far as a price tag, Gallo said those projects and others will be funded through partnerships, facilitating state and federal grants and loans and securing money from the private sector.

But even as the city hopes to move forward, Gallo admitted that public funds are drying up and the city could be looking at 20 layoffs each in the fire and police departments because of a loss of $3 million in sales tax revenue.

Though there was talk at an Ulster County Legislature meeting Thursday afternoon that the loss may be averted, there was no deal yet.

"It could have a disastrous affect," Gallo said.

Immediately, the city is preparing to submit an application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to help move the police department from Downtown to Midtown. That would cost at least $1.5 million, said Gallo.

Gallo also wants a code enforcement officer dedicated to the Midtown area and he threw support behind a $137.5 million Kingston High School renovation plan that will go before voters this December.

Gallo also wants local doctors to create a group, called an Independent Practice Association, that would help them compete with other regional medical consortiums.

"It would establish the city as a medical destination," Gallo said.

Almost half the projects concentrate on the Midtown area, where a lack of employment opportunities near homes and insufficient pay are primary reasons for unemployment and underemployment, a Kingston survey found.